ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THADDAEUS,
ONE OF THE TWELVE
LEBBAEUS, who also is Thaddaeus, was of the city of Edessa--and it is the
metropolis of Osroene, in the interior of the Armenosyrians--an Hebrew by race,
accomplished and most learned in the divine writings. He came to Jerusalem to
worship in the days of John the Baptist; and having heard his preaching and seen
his angelic life, he was baptized, and his name was called Thaddaeus. And having
seen the appearing of Christ, and His teaching, and His wonderful works, he
followed Him, and became His disciple; and He chose him as one of the twelve,
the tenth apostle according to the Evangelists Matthew and Mark.
In those times there was a governor of the city of Edessa, Abgarus by name. And
there having gone abroad the fame of Christ, of the wonders which He did, and of
His teaching, Abgarus having heard of it, was astonished, and desired to see
Christ, and could not leave his city and government. And about the days of the
Passion and the plots of the Jews, Abgarus, being seized by an incurable
disease, sent a letter to Christ by Ananias the courier, to the following
effect:--To Jesus called Christ, Abgarus the governor of the country of the
Edessenes, an unworthy slave. The multitude of the wonders done by thee has been
heard of by me, that thou healest the blind, the lame, and the paralytic, and
curest all the demoniacs; and on this account I entreat thy goodness to come
even to us, and escape from the plottings of the wicked Jews, which through envy
they set in motion against thee. My city is small, but large enough for both.
Abgarus enjoined Ananias to take accurate account of Christ, of what appearance
He was, and His stature, and His hair, and in a word everything.
And Ananias, having gone and given the letter, was carefully looking at Christ,
but was unable to fix Him in his mind. And He knew as knowing the heart, and
asked to wash Himself; and a towel was given Him; and when He had washed
Himself, He wiped His face with it. And His image having been imprinted upon the
linen, He gave it to Ananias, saying: Give this, and take back this message, to
him that sent thee: Peace to thee and thy city! For because of this I am come,
to suffer for the world, and to rise again, and to raise up the forefathers. And
after I have been taken up into the heavens I shall send thee my disciple
Thaddaeus, who shall enlighten thee, and guide thee into all the truth, both
thee and thy city.
And having received Ananias, and fallen down and adored the likeness, Abgarus
was cured of his disease before Thaddaeus came.
And after the passion, and the resurrection, and the ascension, Thaddaeus went
to Abgarus; and having found him in health, he gave him an account of the
incarnation of Christ, and baptized him, with all his house. And having
instructed great multitudes, both of Hebrews and Greeks. Syrians and
Armenians, he baptized them in the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy
Spirit, having anointed them with the holy perfume; and he communicated to
them of the undefiled mysteries of the sacred body and blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and delivered to them to keep and observe the law of Moses, and to
give close heed to the things that had been said by the apostles in Jerusalem.
For year by year they came together to the passover, and again he imparted to
them the Holy Spirit.
And Thaddaeus along with Abgarus destroyed idol-temples and built churches;
ordained as bishop one of his disciples, and presbyters, and deacons, and gave
them the rule of the psalmody and the holy liturgy. And having left them, he
went to the city of Amis, great metropolis of the Mesechaldeans and Syrians,
that is, of Mesopotamia-Syria, beside the river Tigris. And he having gone into
the synagogue of the Jews along with his
disciples on the Sabbath-day, after the
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reading of the law the high priest said to Thaddaeus and his disciples: Men,
whence are you? and why are you here?
And Thaddaeus said: No doubt you have heard of what has taken place in Jerusalem
about Jesus Christ, and we are His disciples, and witnesses of the wonderful
things which He did and taught, and how through hatred the chief
priests delivered Him to Pilate the procurator of Judaea. And Pilate, having
examined Him and found no case, wished to let Him go; but they cried out, If
thou let him go, thou art not Caesar's friend, because he proclaims himself
king. And he being afraid, washed his hands in the sight of the multitude, and
said, I am innocent of the blood of this man; see ye to it. And the chief
priests answered and said, His blood be upon us and our children. And Pilate
gave him up to them. And they took Him, and spit upon Him, with the soldiers,
and made a great mock of Him, and crucified Him, and laid Him in the tomb, and
secured it well, having also set guards upon Him. And on the third day before
dawn He rose, leaving His burial-clothes in the tomb. And He was seen first by
His mother and other women, and by Peter and John first of my fellow disciples,
and thereafter to us the twelve, who ate and drank with Him after His
resurrection for many days. And He sent us in His name to proclaim
repentance and remission of sins to all the nations, that those who were
baptized, having had the kingdom of the heavens preached to them, would rise
up incorruptible at the end of this age; and He gave us power to expel demons,
and heal every disease and every malady, and raise the dead.
And the multitudes having heard this, brought together their sick and demoniacs.
And Thaddaeus, having gone forth along with his disciples, laid his hand upon
each one of them, and healed them all by calling upon the name of Christ. And
the demoniacs were healed before Thaddaeus came near them, the spirits going out
of them. And for many days the people ran together from different places, and
beheld what was done by Thaddaeus. And hearing his teaching, many believed, and
were baptized, confessing their sins.
Having therefore remained with them for five years, he built a church; and
having appointed as bishop one of his disciples, and presbyters, and deacons,
and prayed for them, he went away, going round the cities of Syria, and
teaching, and healing all the sick; whence he brought many cities and countries
to Christ through His teaching. Teaching, therefore, and evangelizing along with
the disciples, and healing the sick, he went to Berytus, a city of Phoenicia by
the sea; and there, having taught and enlightened many, he fell asleep on the
twenty-first of the month of August. And the disciples having come together,
buried him with great honour; and many sick were healed, and they gave glory to
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.